February 1-28, every night from 11:57pm-midnight
(New York, N.Y.) January 30, 2017 – Times Square Arts presents artist Alex Da Corte’s Blue Moon on Times Square’s electronic billboards from 11:57 p.m. to midnight every night in February. Presented in partnership with the Whitney Museum of American Art on the occasion of their exhibition “Dreamlands: Immersive Cinema and Art, 1905–2016”, this project is a part of Midnight Moment, a monthly presentation by The Times Square Advertising Coalition (TSAC) and Times Square Arts.
Philadelphia-based interdisciplinary artist Alex Da Corte splashes a surreal, theatrical portrait across Times Square, featuring a man holding a crescent moon and crooning along to the classic Rodgers and Hart song “Blue Moon” as the loving and lonely lyrics appear karaoke-style at the bottom of the screen. The work features pop-art colors to brighten the winter sky, and a wry perspective on the dreams in our hearts and our prospects for finding a love of our own.
On Wednesday, February 1st at 11:30pm, join Times Square Arts for the Blue Moon Karaoke Sing-along on Duffy Square at 46th St and Broadway. Could this be the world’s largest collective karaoke performance? Or the largest chorus of “Blue Moon”? With hot beverages on hand, indulge in communal longing as Alex Da Corte’s Midnight Moment leads us in song.
Alex Da Corte, Artist, said, "I have always liked the performance of karaoke. This is partly due to the fact that I am a poor singer and I admire this lack of talent in others as well. The karaoke stage is a perfect melting pot for the good and the bad singers of the world to be what they want to be or what they don’t want to be without recourse. It is a safe space. It is a place to access what you long for. I thought it apt to make a karaoke video for Time Square where the sound of the city would overpower any karaoke song of choice. It allows the performance to be without flaws, an ideal, an American idol....like watching someone land on the Moon.”
Tim Tompkins, President of the Times Square Alliance, said, “As our thoughts turn towards Valentine’s Day and the myriad and bizarre ways in which we express love, Alex Da Corte’s colorful, dreamlike film brings visitors to Times Square together in a moment of musing on loneliness and connection – and one which, like Times Square itself, reminds us to expect the unexpected.”
Fred Rosenberg, President of the Times Square Advertising Coalition, said,“We’re thrilled to partner with the Whitney Museum to showcase Blue Moon, a colorful piece that reflects the theatricality and creativity so intrinsic to Times Square. Each month, the Midnight Moment gets more innovative, incorporating new and interactive components like this month’s massive public karaoke ensemble – amplifying the experience and technology of our iconic digital screens.”
Chrissie Iles, Curator, The Whitney Museum of American Art, said, “Times Square is like a giant open-air drive-in movie house, a combination of spectacle, TV and theatre. Alex Da Corte's Midnight Moment video introduces a dreamlike cinematic presence. The artist sings the 1934 popular ballad "Blue Moon" in a costume and background that evokes the movie theaters and stages of Times Square from the 1930s to the 1950s, at the height of the musical's popularity, transforming cinematic spectacle into an intimate collective experience.”
The following digital screens are participating in the February Midnight Moment:
ABC SuperSign, American Eagle Times Square, Bank of America, Branded Cities 7 Times Square, Branded Cities NASDAQ Tower Times Square, Branded Cities Thomson Reuters, CEMUSA, City Outdoor, Clear Channel Spectacolor HD127/CNN, Clear Channel Spectacolor HD128, Disney Store Spectacular, Microsoft Cube and Welcome Center Live Tiles, Morgan Stanley, Outfront Media 1515 Broadway/ Viacom North & South, Sherwood Equities 1 Times Square, SILVERCAST Digital Spectacular - Times Square, Superior Digital Displays Crossroads of the World, Triple Play on 7th Ave & The Waterfall on 42nd St
About Midnight Moment
Midnight Moment is the world’s largest, longest-running digital art exhibition, synchronized on electronic billboards throughout Times Square nightly from 11:57pm to Midnight. Presented by the Times Square Advertising Coalition and curated by Times Square Arts since 2012, it has an estimated annual viewership of 2.5 million.
Past artists featured in the program include Pipilotti Rist; Tal Yarden; Emilio Perez; Tim Etchells; Elizabeth Peyton and Kristian Emdal; Jherek Bischoff; Beau Stanton; Saya Woolfalk; Jennifer Steinkamp; Soundwalk Collective; Lorna Mills; Peter Fischli and David Weiss; Laurie Anderson; Antony Nagelmann; Jesper Just; Shahzia Sikander; Rashaad Newsome; Osgemeos; Eric Dyer; Richard Garet; Andy Warhol; Peggy Ahwesh; Marco Brambilla; Rafaël Rozendaal; Sebastian Errazuriz; Charles Atlas and Antony; Noah Hutton; Ryoji Ikeda; Daniel Canogar; Alfredo Jaar; Isaac Julien; Robert Wilson; Tracey Emin; Seoungho Cho; Vicki DaSilva, Surabhi Saraf, and Elly Cho; Erika Janunger; Takeshi Murata; Bel Borba with Burt Sun and André Costantini; Zach Nader; Brian Gonzalez (aka Taxiplasm); Björk; JR; Ryan McGinley; Jack Goldstein; Nature Theater of Oklahoma; Ezra Wube; Laleh Khorramian; Brian Dailey; Leslie Thornton; and Yoko Ono. For more information on past projects, please visit: http://www.timessquarenyc.org/times-square-arts/projects/midnight-moment/index.aspx
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Times Square Advertising Coalition (TSAC) is a trade association comprised of major advertisers, retailers, real estate firms, media companies and other businesses involved in the outdoor sign industry in Times Square, along with organizations representing Broadway and the community. Members of TSAC include: ABC Regional Sports & Entertainment Sales, Clear Channel Spectacolor, Daktronics, D3 LED, Digital Domination, Hines Management, Jamestown One Times Square, Lamar Advertising Company, Landmark Sign & Electric, Metro Media Technologies, Newmark Knight Frank, North Shore Neon, P.R.omotion!, Sherwood Outdoor, SL Green, Times Square Alliance, The WOW Factor and Thomson Reuters. www.timessquareadcoalition.org. Follow TSAC on twitter at @TSACNYC.
Times Square Arts, the public art program of the Times Square Alliance, collaborates with contemporary artists and cultural institutions to experiment and engage with one of the world's most iconic urban places. Through the Square's electronic billboards, public plazas, vacant areas and popular venues, and the Alliance's own online landscape, Times Square Arts invites leading contemporary creators to help the public see Times Square in new ways. Times Square has always been a place of risk, innovation and creativity, and the Arts Program ensures these qualities remain central to the district's unique identity. Generous support of Times Square Arts is provided by the. New York State Council on the Arts, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Visit http://www.timessquarenyc.org/times-square-arts/index.aspx for more information. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @TSqArts.
Alex Da Corte
Alex Da Corte was born in Camden, New Jersey, in 1980. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of the Arts, Philadelphia, and a Master of Fine Arts from the Yale University School of Art. His survey exhibition “Free Roses” is currently on view at MASS MoCA, North Adams. Other recent solo exhibitions include “A Man Full Of Trouble” at Maccarone Gallery, New York, NY; “50 Wigs” at the Herning Museum of Contemporary Art, Herning, DK and ”A Season in He’ll” at Art + Practice, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles (all 2016.) Da Corte’s work “Easternsports” with Jayson Musson is included in the group exhibition “Dreamlands: Immersive Cinema and Art, 1905–2016” at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York. Past group exhibitions include the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebæk, DK; the 13th Biennale de Lyon, Lyon, FR. www.alexdacorte.com
Whitney Museum of American Art
The Whitney Museum of American Art, founded in 1930 by the artist and philanthropist Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875–1942), houses the foremost collection of American art from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Mrs. Whitney, an early and ardent supporter of modern American art, nurtured groundbreaking artists at a time when audiences were still largely preoccupied with the Old Masters. From her vision arose the Whitney Museum of American Art, which has been championing the most innovative art of the United States for more than eighty years. The core of the Whitney’s mission is to collect, preserve, interpret, and exhibit American art of our time and serve a wide variety of audiences in celebration of the complexity and diversity of art and culture in the United States. Through this mission and a steadfast commitment to artists themselves, the Whitney has long been a powerful force in support of modern and contemporary art and continues to help define what is innovative and influential in American art today.
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Media Contacts:
For Times Square Arts:
TJ Witham
212.452.5234 | TJWitham@TimesSquareNYC.org
Marisa Wayne
212.843.9216 | MWayne@Rubenstein.com
For TSAC:
Justine DiGiglio
212.205.6632 │Justine@NicholasLence.com